So, what is a scientific mooring?

When most people think of a mooring, they imagine it to be somewhere you can tie up your boat while it’s in harbour, like a wharf, a jetty, a pier, an anchor buoy, or a mooring buoy. A mooring buoy usually consists of a float on the surface, then a chain or a rope down to a heavy weight on the sea floor.

It’s this last kind of mooring that is most similar to a surface scientific mooring, but instead of a small float on the surface, it has a 1.76 tonne float that contains a huge battery and scientific equipment that can relay data back via satellite.

There are also sub-surface moorings that are used in the parts of the ocean that have a lot of traffic, and these are completely submerged so that ships don’t run into them.

Check out this animation, which will show you more about both kinds of scientific moorings!